Senator Quits Montana Race After Charge of Plagiarism

Senator John Walsh of Montana in June. He will keep his seat till the end of this year.

J. Scott Applewhite / Associated Press

By JONATHAN MARTIN

August 7, 2014

WASHINGTON — Under pressure from fellow Democrats, Senator John Walsh of Montana, who has served in office for just six months, said Thursday that he was dropping his election bid, clearing the path for his party to nominate a new candidate.

“I am ending my campaign so that I can focus on fulfilling the responsibility entrusted to me as your U.S. senator,” Mr. Walsh said in a statement. “You deserve someone who will always fight for Montana, and I will.”

Mr. Walsh met with his campaign manager and chief of staff in Helena on Wednesday night to discuss the decision, and then told campaign staff members in Billings on Thursday that he would step aside.

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Appointed in February after Senator Max Baucus was named ambassador to China, Mr. Walsh will keep his seat through the end of this year. Montana Democrats have until Aug. 21 — when statewide candidates are certified on the ballot — to replace him.

His withdrawal from the race comes about two weeks after The New York Times reported that in 2007 Mr. Walsh plagiarized large sections of the final paper he completed to earn his master’s degree at the prestigious Army War College in Carlisle, Pa. In his statement, Mr. Walsh expressed no contrition for the plagiarism, saying only that the “research paper from my time at the U.S. Army War College has become a distraction from the debate you expect and deserve.”

Monday is the deadline for Montana candidates to withdraw from the general election. The convention to replace Mr. Walsh on the ballot is expected to take place in Helena on Aug. 16.

Mr. Walsh, who had been set to face Representative Steve Daines, a Republican, was considered one of the most vulnerable Senate Democrats, and Republicans were quick to suggest that his move would not affect the race.

“Steve Daines is one of the strongest Senate candidates in the country, was in the process of defeating Senator Walsh and will defeat whichever Band-Aid candidate Democrats can convince to get in the race,” said Brad Dayspring, a spokesman for the National Republican Senatorial Committee.

Two Montana Democrats, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly, said the party was considering Nancy Keenan, a former head of Naral Pro-Choice America, to become its nominee. Ms. Keenan has had conversations about the prospect with state Democrats, but she did not respond to messages seeking comment.

Other possible candidates include State Senator David Wanzenried and former Lt. Gov. John Bohlinger, who ran against Mr. Walsh in the Democratic primary and told The Bozeman Daily Chronicle this week he would be willing to run.

Democrats said an added imperative to fielding a strong candidate was the impact it would have on other races, notably the one for the state’s lone member of the House, in which they think their candidate, John Lewis, has a chance to take the seat from the Republicans. A number of contested state legislative contests are also on the ballot.

Ms. Keenan, a Montana native, left her post with Naral and returned to the Missoula area last year. She previously served as Montana’s superintendent of public instruction and has also served as a state representative.

One Democrat in the state noted that Ms. Keenan had a “national profile and national network” that would help her raise money quickly to give the party at least a chance to make the race competitive. Though Montana is a conservative-leaning state, it leans more libertarian on social issues such as abortion.

While Ms. Keenan, if nominated, may not ultimately be able to retain the seat first won by Mr. Baucus in 1978, strategists believe that she would at least draw financial support.

Mr. Walsh had said little publicly for much of this week, canceling public events and discussing his decision with his family.

After initially denying his plagiarism when confronted with evidence outside his office last month, Mr. Walsh suggested after The Times published the article that stress from his tour of combat in Iraq had played a part in his appropriating the work of others.

Last week, however, he said that the effects of his military service had not played a part, and indicated that he took “full responsibility” for his behavior.

The War College commenced its own investigation into Mr. Walsh immediately after the Times article was published, and it made a preliminary conclusion that there was evidence of plagiarism. An academic review board at the college will convene next month to reach a conclusive determination, a decision that could result in the senator’s losing his degree.